Search Results for: science

The rise in non-traditional sexual relations that marked the “swinging ’60s” actually began during the ’50s. Recent analysis indicates that widespread use of penicillin, leading to a 75% decline in syphilis deaths during the 1950s, launched the modern sexual era, and not the birth control pill

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9 Surprising Facts About the Scientific Study of Sex The scientific study of sex is much more exciting than an awkward sex ed class. While writing my book Sex Weird-o-Pedia, these were some of the most interesting facts about science and sex that I came across. 1. Some sex researchers didn’t want their findings to …

The rise in non-traditional sexual relations that marked the “swinging ’60s” actually began during the ’50s. Recent analysis indicates that widespread use of penicillin, leading to a 75% decline in syphilis deaths during the 1950s, launched the modern sexual era, and not the birth control pill Read More »

Archaeologists routinely find edible honey in ancient Egyptian tombs – the stuff never spoils, due to extremely low water-content, very low pH, and hydrogen peroxide (made by an enzyme in the bees’ stomachs).

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The Science Behind Honey’s Eternal Shelf Life Modern archeologists, excavating ancient Egyptian tombs, have often found something unexpected amongst the tombs’ artifacts: pots of honey, thousands of years old, and yet still preserved. Through millennia, the archeologists discover, the food remains unspoiled, an unmistakable testament to the eternal shelf-life of honey. There are a few …

Archaeologists routinely find edible honey in ancient Egyptian tombs – the stuff never spoils, due to extremely low water-content, very low pH, and hydrogen peroxide (made by an enzyme in the bees’ stomachs). Read More »

The webcam was invented just because 3 people wanted to keep a check on coffee level without walking to their breakroom.

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Design Of Everyday Things #12 Brilliance of Everyday Objects Problem: Coffee less trips to break room Solution: Let’s keep a track of the coffee levels from where we are sitting The year was 1991, and the computer science faculty at Cambridge University was tired of walking all the way to the breakroom only to find …

The webcam was invented just because 3 people wanted to keep a check on coffee level without walking to their breakroom. Read More »

90% of all scientists who have ever lived are alive today.

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90% of All the Scientists That Ever Lived Are Alive Today The following paper was written and submitted by Eric Gastfriend. The information he presents is helpful to keep in mind as we consider the speed with which technologies are advancing today. This simple statistic captures the power of the exponential growth in science that …

90% of all scientists who have ever lived are alive today. Read More »

Meet the joke behind NASA’s Juno mission. While Jupiter’s moons are named after the god’s many mistresses, Juno, the space probe sent to orbit and monitor Jupiter, is named after his wife.

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Kepler laid the groundwork for this amazing science joke 400 years ago — and it finally paid off Wikimedia Commons Even in the space age, a little knowledge of the classics comes in handy sometimes. If you’re a fan of Greco-Roman mythology and NASA, you may have noticed that the space probe now orbiting Jupiter …

Meet the joke behind NASA’s Juno mission. While Jupiter’s moons are named after the god’s many mistresses, Juno, the space probe sent to orbit and monitor Jupiter, is named after his wife. Read More »

Bruce McAllister, a 16 year-old student, in 1963 wrote to 150 authors to settle a dispute with his English teacher about textual symbolism. More than 75 replied, including Ray Bradbury, John Updike, and Saul Bellow. McAllister later became an acclaimed author and literature professor.

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Document: The Symbolism Survey In 1963, a sixteen-year-old San Diego high school student named Bruce McAllister sent a four-question mimeographed survey to 150 well-known authors of literary, commercial, and science fiction. Did they consciously plant symbols in their work? he asked. Who noticed symbols appearing from their subconscious, and who saw them arrive in their …

Bruce McAllister, a 16 year-old student, in 1963 wrote to 150 authors to settle a dispute with his English teacher about textual symbolism. More than 75 replied, including Ray Bradbury, John Updike, and Saul Bellow. McAllister later became an acclaimed author and literature professor. Read More »

Astronomer Harlow Shapley firmly believed that there was only one galaxy in the universe but when he was presented with an evidence that disproved his view, he said “it destroyed his universe.” Then he completely changed his view and devoted his subsequent career in mapping 76,000 galaxies.

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Harlow Shapley Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American scientist, head of the Harvard College Observatory (1921–1952), and political activist during the latter New Deal and Fair Deal. Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to estimate the size of the Milky Way Galaxy and the Sun’s position within it by using …

Astronomer Harlow Shapley firmly believed that there was only one galaxy in the universe but when he was presented with an evidence that disproved his view, he said “it destroyed his universe.” Then he completely changed his view and devoted his subsequent career in mapping 76,000 galaxies. Read More »

Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences couldn’t legally attend college, so she did it illegally, going to what was known as the ‘Flying University’, a secret organization.

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Marie Curie – Early Years Maria Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, in Congress Poland in the Russian Empire, on 7 November 1867, the fifth and youngest child of well-known teachers Bronisława, née Boguska, and Władysław Skłodowski. The elder siblings of Maria (nicknamed Mania) were Zofia (born 1862, nicknamed Zosia), Józef [pl] (born 1863, nicknamed Józio), Bronisława (born 1865, nicknamed Bronia) and Helena (born 1866, nicknamed Hela). On both the paternal and maternal sides, …

Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences couldn’t legally attend college, so she did it illegally, going to what was known as the ‘Flying University’, a secret organization. Read More »

Due to a strong dislike towards mixing of science and politics, Einstein said were he a young man again, he’d choose to be a plumber or a peddler, to which many plumbing companies responded by making him the honorary plumber. Also, there are many Einstein Plumbing companies in the US now.

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Albert Einstein said if he could do it all again, he would be a plumber. In November 1954, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to a magazine in which he declared that, were he a young man again, he would not try to become a scientist: “I would rather choose to be a plumber or a …

Due to a strong dislike towards mixing of science and politics, Einstein said were he a young man again, he’d choose to be a plumber or a peddler, to which many plumbing companies responded by making him the honorary plumber. Also, there are many Einstein Plumbing companies in the US now. Read More »

Jurassic Park’s visual effects were so groundbreaking to filmmakers that it inspired Peter Jackson to begin work on Lord of the Rings, George Lucas to start on the Star Wars prequels, and Stanley Kubrick to invest in his pet project, A.I (Artificial Intelligence). Jurassic Park (film)

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Jurassic Park (film) Jurassic Park Discovery Center at Islands of Adventure. Since its release, Jurassic Park has frequently been cited by film critics and industry professionals as one of the greatest movies of the action and thriller genres. The movie is also an example of a Technothriller. The American Film Institute named Jurassic Park the …

Jurassic Park’s visual effects were so groundbreaking to filmmakers that it inspired Peter Jackson to begin work on Lord of the Rings, George Lucas to start on the Star Wars prequels, and Stanley Kubrick to invest in his pet project, A.I (Artificial Intelligence). Jurassic Park (film) Read More »

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